Exclusive:'It worries me' - Lisbon Lion raises concern over spiralling decline of Celtic's youth development pathway
Celtic’s youth development system has received major scrutiny in recent years
Lisbon Lion Jim Craig has expressed fresh concern over the lack of young players making the transition from academy football into the Celtic senior set-up.
The Hoops’ youth development system has come in for intense scrutiny in recent years, with many critics and fans arguing that the club are failing to promote talent from within their own ranks and letting those prospects flourish into first-team regulars.
While Celtic’s development pathway continues to produce the odd player, who have gained international caps at various age groups, few have successfully established themselves as key members for the senior squad in the last decade, with Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney and James Forrest being the three notable long-term exceptions.
There have been several cases where a number of top prospects have been tempted by lucrative offers from clubs in England or abroad before they have had the opportunity to make a first-team breakthrough.
The likes of Ben Doak, Barry Hepburn, Daniel Cummings, Rocco Vata, Liam Morrison and Daniel Kelly have all decided their future lies elsewhere away from Parkhead in recent years.
And while central defender Dane Murray has found himself on the fringes for a number of seasons since graduating, only teenage right-back Colby Donovan has managed to gain regular minutes and establish his spot in the matchday squad.
With no real sign of the next promising starlet waiting to burst out of the pack and make a name for themselves, Craig is worried that a lack of youngsters being produced across Scottish football could have an adverse effect on the national team’s future.
Speaking exclusively to GlasgowWorld at the campaign launch of the Jim Craig Govan Foundation, the 82-year-old admitted: “Yes, I am worries by it. I still think we've got the talent there waiting to come through, but it's just getting that opportunity seems harder to come by nowadays.
“You don't throw young players straight in now, do you? Instead, you bring in foreign players and pay them big money. You bring a big name in because that will attract fans.
“But obviously, we still want to see young players coming through at every club. It's a balance between giving them the opportunity, but the quality has also got to be there like young Colby has shown.
“The difference with the national team is that you've got to have the quality there and it has to come up through the ranks. So I’d be a bit concerned about that.
“For clubs like Celtic, they're always accused of not spending any money in the transfer window. Firstly, you must wonder how much money they get to spend compared to teams in England.
“But they've brought in people who haven't really risen to the challenge so far in terms of the recruitment. Should they really be trusted with spending more money in the summer? It's a real problem at the moment.”
Why are Celtic struggling to integrate youth players into the first-team?
Celtic are facing a decline in the production of bringing through young players and integrating them into their senior team, with many rising stars departing before getting to showcase their talent.
This issue has been driven by pressure and the demand to deliver immediate results and success, often leading to a reliance on experienced first-team players or external signings over the introduction of academy prospects.
Clubs in the English Premier League, and to a lesser extent, EFL Championship are scouting and recruiting young talent from the ages of 16 upwards, often being able to offer wages that most teams in Scotland cannot match.
Many youngsters feel their progression pathway is being blocked due to a heavy first-team competition for places, while Celtic have previously been criticised for failing to act quick enough to tie down their best young prospects on new deals. Instead, they have allowed players to enter the final six months of their contracts and make them vulnerable to being poached by other clubs.
Limiting opportunities for a manager to experiment with untested players will do little to help bridge the gap between youth football and professional competition. But just how do Celtic seek a solution to this problem?
While there have been a small sprinkling of recent success stories, the club’s overall academy output hasn’t matched the high turnover of players who have either failed to make the grade or leave prematurely.
This has led to serious question marks over Celtic’s long-term recruitment strategy, which previous manager Brendan Rodgers alluded to prior to his resignation.
Much of the supporters anger has stemmed from the fact the club is sitting on cash reserves of more than £70m after years of on-field success and significant player sales.
Rodgers stated seven years ago during his first trophy-laden spell in charge that when he felt his own ambition wasn’t matched by the board, he would no longer want to lead the team. Last summer’s transfer window tested his patience to the limit and eventually led to his exit.
*Jim Craig was helping to launch a campaign to build a statue in Govan where he spent his early years growing up.